7:08am June 2, 2015

➸ Lost Woman's Battle Cry: Dyscalculia and My War With Math -

“As a queer, African American woman, I am consistently judged by my abilities, my language, my memory, and what the world believes to be inscribed on my body and in my history. I work twice as hard so there’s never a question about my intelligence or integrity, carry my invisible disability with me like a razor hiding in my mouth. It is my secret and my weapon.
“Despite the work I have done to love and embrace myself, I, have faced ridicule and denial when I tell other adults—friends, lovers, colleagues, employers. Because of misogyny people transpose their stereotypes on my person and conflate them with the integrity of my struggles.
“Racism attempts to turn my disability into laziness, just as it did when I was child and my teachers didn’t consider testing me for a disability. For anyone similarly struggling in their education or watching their children struggle, I’m writing this so you know that disability is a real possibility.
“Finding out that I had a learning disability came with a lot of stigmas to deconstruct; I questioned my own intelligence, my sexiness, my social value as a friend. But, on the other side of those questions, I recognized my resilience, the intricacy of my beauty, the potency of my self-love. I’m not a stereotype. I’m not a failure. I work hard and I deserve opportunities to succeed. If someone could’ve said these words to me when I was 8 or 10 years old, they may have empowered me to be more open to my ability to succeed in the classroom. So, I stand here, in solidarity, hoping you tell your story, too.“

More at the link.

Another really good example of how the autism community needs to organize against racism. And how the white autism community needs to really be aware of how much more POC in general, and often specifically Black autistic people, are written off and abandoned. (She doesn’t talk about specifically being autistic, but dyscalculia is definitely an “autism cousin”.)